"Regardless of the circumstances related to his appointment, Larry Connell has performed phenomenally as the Washington DC VA Medical Center's director," the statement said. The US Office of Special Counsel is unrelated to the office of Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller. Problems at the DC hospitalShulkin announced last April that Connell was his pick for acting medical director of the Washington center after an interim VA inspector general report criticized the hospital. Connell told CNN he didn't want it to look like "someone unqualified was put over at the VA medical center. VA Inspector General Michael Missal said "failed leadership at multiple levels within VA that put patients and assets ... at unnecessary risk."

Source: CNN March 24, 2018 00:56 UTC